Leicester City’s final-day win over Blackburn meant that they collected enough points to stay up had the club not been hit with a six-point deduction for breaches of financial rules
09:55, 03 May 2026Updated 10:03, 03 May 2026
The Leicester City squad prior to their 1-0 win over Blackburn(Image: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
The Leicester City squad won’t blame the club for their relegation, Gary Rowett has said, despite the players collecting enough points to stay up.
Victory over Blackburn on the final day meant that had City not received a six-point sanction for a breach of Profit and Sustainability Rules they would have remained in the Championship by the skin of their teeth.
Purely on points earned, City would have finished 21st with 52 points, ahead of Sheffield Wednesday, Oxford, and Blackburn, the latter on goal difference. West Brom ended the campaign on 51 points but without their points deduction would have finished with 53.
But Rowett said the squad know they’ve not been good enough and won’t try to shirk the responsibility for the club’s fall into League One.
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“I’ve never heard the players saying it’s all the club’s fault for the points deduction,” Rowett said. “They accepted it.
“I don’t think we can define our season on that. I think we should have had more about us as a team to stay up by a lot more than the margin anyway.
“It comes down to missed opportunities, it comes down to that extra drive in the squad, that extra physicality we spoke about you need in the Championship.
“Those things are going to be a narrative but I don’t think it’s a narrative I’ve heard the players blaming. I don’t think that’s an issue.”
Many of the players won’t deal with the repercussions of the fall into League One as they will depart the King Power Stadium.
Ricardo Pereira said a tearful goodbye on Saturday afternoon and he won’t be the only one heading to pastures new.
“Ricky, it was his last game and it was nice to give him a fitting tribute,” Rowett said. “That was important, even in a poor season.
“It was important that all of the players at least finished on a positive note because there have been enough negatives.
“A lot of those players won’t be here next season I’m sure. There might be a few who are still here. It’s going to be a great opportunity for the club to rebuild, to reassess what they think is important, to get those cultural bits right.”
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